What was the big boom?

By editor

Created 04/13/2011 - 6:04am

By Joseph Bell - Record Editor - Several Elk County residents placed calls to emergency services personnel and law enforcement agencies Sunday night regarding what they described as a loud "boom." Although the source of the noise was initially attributed to seismic testing for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling, no cause or explanation has formally been discovered. According to several news sources, residents called 911 to report feeling and hearing a blast in Johnsonburg around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday evening. Other residents in the neighboring municipalities of Ridgway and Wilcox also called emergency services to report hearing a loud, explosion-type noise. Calls to Elk County's 911 were received at 9 p.m. from Jones Township, 10:15 p.m. from Ridgway and 10:30 p.m. from Jones Township. Police in those areas also received inquiries about the sound.
When anything goes wrong in the area lately, most folks seemingly are quick to blame it on Marcellus Shale drilling however I don't quite think that's the case here.
The East Branch area has long been known for being used as military training airspace and the latest "boom" could no doubt be a military jet breaking the sound barrier. In talking with some of the locals in that area, on more than one occasion the "boom" from a jet actually broke a window. Military helicopters also are routinely seen throughout the area which further illustrates that point.
But what do you think the big boom was? Is it because of the Marcellus Shale drilling? Is the boogie man coming to get us? Or is it something even more outrageous?